Understanding Human Motivation

Donald Laming was formerly Senior Lecturer in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He has written several previous books, Information Theory of Choice-Reaction Times (1968), Mathematical Psychology (1973), Sensory Analysis (1986), and The Measurement of Sensation (1997).

"This new book on human motivation by Donald Laming represents a fresh look at an important area of psychology. The material is presented in the original idiom of real life stories in newspapers, which serve to illuminate classical controversies in social psychology. Although the book also has some novel theoretical insights, it should be particularly useful for students beginning in psychology." Trevor Robbins, University of Cambridge

• Preface and Acknowledgments xiiINTRODUCTION: THREE FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS 1What is “Motivation”? 2How Can We Study Human Motivation? 3The use of anecdotal material 3Three Fundamental Ideas 6Quasi-mechanical behavior 6Personal view and camera view 6Social extrusion 7Some omissions 8The Plan of this Book 9Questions for discussion 101 DETERMINISM AND FREE WILL 11Determinism 12Psychological theory treats behavior as determinate 13Free Will 14Questions for discussion 202 TERROR 21The Origins of Fear 23Components of Fear 25Two stages in the genesis of fear 27Fear as Instinct 30Pathological fear 32The Experience of Fear 33Companionship 33Military combat 34Being in control 34Training and skill 35The Persistence of Fear 35The persistence of memory 35Recurrence of fear 36Questions for discussion 373 SEX 38Personal View and Camera View 40Which view – personal view or camera view? 42Lay psychology 43Sexual Behavior is Quasi-Mechanical 45“Mechanical” 45“Substantially mechanical” 46Acquisition of patterns of sexual behavior 47The pleasure principle 49Some Questions about Sexual Behavior 511 What are the extraneous signals which trigger sexual behavior? 512 What other signals or social constraints act to modify sexual behavior? 523 What about the intense feelings that accompany sexual activity? 534 What has this to do with the survival of the species? 545 What about the variation in sexual behavior from one adult to another? 566 Does sexual behavior have to match between male and female? 567 How much of our sexual behavior is innate and how much acquired?4 CONSCIOUSNESS 60Two Views of What People Do 61The Meaning of “Consciousness” 62Philosophical inquiry into consciousness 64The neural signature of consciousness 65Personal view and camera view 67The Relationship of Subjective Experience to Objective Observation 69The split brain 75Why is consciousness important to the study of motivation? 79Questions for discussion 805 BOREDOM 81The Political Background 82“Brainwashing” 83Sensory Deprivation 84Hallucinations 85Disturbances of perception 92Cognitive deficits 94What does it all signify? 96Boredom 96Boredom at work 97Leisure activities 97Questions for discussion 1026 SOCIAL CONVENTIONS 103Milgram’s Experiments 104Proximity of teacher and pupil 104What is going on? 106Relaxation of the conflict 108The importance of social structure 109Social Conventions 111Social conventions are different in different societies 113Social conventions also differ between subgroups within the one society 116Understanding Milgram’s Results 117Military obedience 119The Stanford County Prison Experiment 120Questions for discussion 1237 THE RATE FOR THE JOB 124How Much Do Different People Earn? 1241 People doing the same job get paid the same (irrespective of how well they do it), unless, sometimes, they happen to be women 1252 Those people closest to the money are paid the most 1253 If someone can earn more by negotiating a private deal, well, good luck to her or him 128Boardroom pay 130MPs’ financial interests 134What has this chapter really been about? 137Questions for discussion 1398 LONELINESS 140The Experience of Being Alone 140Applications of research into social isolation 143“Brainwashing” 144Feral Children 147What may we conclude from the attempted rehabilitation of these three children? 151Conclusions on Social Isolation 153Questions for discussion 1559 THE MORAL SANCTION 156The Moral Sanction 157An experimental study of extrusion 157Whistleblowers 159Examples from the wider society 162Some Interim Conclusions on Extrusion 1671 Extrusion is spontaneous 1672 Moral constraints are subconscious 1693 The sanction of extrusion is powerful 1714 The underclass 171Questions for discussion 17310 PEER PRESSURE 174Social Conformity 174Informational and Normative Influences 177Informational influence 178Normative influence 179Group cohesiveness 180What Happens if the Majority is Not Unanimous? 181Inversion of majority and minority 184How Large Does the Majority Have to Be? 185Individual differences between participants 186Interrogation by the police 188Summary 192Questions for discussion 19411 THE CROWD 195The Problem 195The flashpoint 196“Group mind” 197The random evolution of crowd behavior 1971 Social Attitudes, Standards, Conventions Evolve 1972 Social Conventions Can Evolve Rapidly 1983 The Evolution of Social Conventions is Essentially Random 202Rumor 202Public protest 2034 The Likelihood of Disorder, of Riot, Depends on the Crowd’s Reason for Being 2055 The Likelihood of Disorder, of Riot, also Depends on the Social Setting 207Summary 209Questions for discussion 20912 RAGE . . . 210Why Are People Aggressive? 211Frustration 212Negative affect 212Retaliation 213Aggression as Instinct 213The “terrible twos” 213Instrumental and Emotional Aggression 214Experimental Methods 215The Buss aggression apparatus 216The effects of alcohol 218Aggression in Everyday Life 220Domestic violence 220Road rage 222Social cognition 223Crowding 225Three principal factors 226Summary 228Questions for discussion 22913 . . . AND ARE WE PROVOKED TO VIOLENCE BY THE MEDIA? 230Video Nasties 230“Copycat” Murders 231Boxing 234The effect of watching a boxing match 235Neighbor Disputes 236Sympathetic motivation 237Suicides 238The Long-Term Effect of Television Violence 239Summary 243Questions for discussion 24414 MONEY 245Two ways to become rich 246The Psychopathic Personality 247Machiavellianism 248The $10 game 249The con game 250Pawnbroking 252Eye contact 253Credibility when lying 253Pyramid selling 256Commissions for financial services 257Questions for discussion 26115 GAMBLING 262The Prevalence of Gambling 262Rationality 264The estimation of probabilities 265Blackjack 268How gamblers play blackjack 269Roulette 270Betting systems 271Luck 272Personal view and camera view 274Sales Promotions 276Questions for discussion 27716 HUMAN MOTIVATION: HOW DOES IT WORK? 278Three Fundamental Ideas 278Personal view and camera view 278Quasi-mechanical behavior 279Social conventions 280How Does it All Work? 281Hormones 282References 284Index 302